System and method that facilitates providing a virtual agent

ABSTRACT

Aspects are disclosed for providing users with a virtual agent at a property. A user is authenticated based on user information included in a request to enter a property secured by a locking mechanism. The user is then provided with physical access to the property remotely in response to an authentication of the user. The user is also provided with a virtual tour of the property, which comprises a remote real time interaction with the user during the physical access of the property.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject disclosure generally relates to virtual tours of properties,and more specifically to interactive virtual tours of properties inwhich physical access is remotely provided.

BACKGROUND

By way of background concerning conventional property tours, it is notedthat scheduling such tours is often undesirably cumbersome andinefficient. For instance, when a prospective buyer sees a real estatesign on a house they wish to purchase, they generally call their agentor the agent on the sign. The actual showing of the property, however,depends on the agents' availability to meet with the prospective buyerat the property, which may not occur until several days later. Toovercome this delay, many agents provide virtual tours of the property,which prospective buyers may instantly access online. Such tours,however, do not provide prospective buyers with physical access to theproperty, nor do they provide prospective buyers with a mechanism tointeract with an agent during the tour.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system and method whichovercomes these limitations. To this end, it should be noted that theabove-described deficiencies are merely intended to provide an overviewof some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended tobe exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art andcorresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodimentsmay become further apparent upon review of the following detaileddescription.

SUMMARY

A simplified summary is provided herein to help enable a basic orgeneral understanding of various aspects of exemplary, non-limitingembodiments that follow in the more detailed description and theaccompanying drawings. This summary is not intended, however, as anextensive or exhaustive overview. Instead, the sole purpose of thissummary is to present some concepts related to some exemplarynon-limiting embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the moredetailed description of the various embodiments that follow.

In accordance with one or more embodiments and corresponding disclosure,various non-limiting aspects are described in connection with providingusers with a virtual agent at a property. In one such aspect, a methodis provided which includes authenticating a user based on userinformation included in a request to enter a property secured by alocking mechanism. The method further includes providing the user withphysical access to the property in response to an authentication of theuser, and providing the user with a virtual tour of the property. Forthis embodiment, the physical access is remotely provided, and thevirtual tour comprises a remote real time interaction with the userduring the physical access of the property.

In another aspect, a system is provided. Within such embodiment, thesystem includes an authentication component, an access component, and aninteraction component. The authentication component is configured toauthenticate a user based on user information included in a request toenter a property secured by a locking mechanism, whereas the accesscomponent is configured to provide the user with physical access to theproperty in response to an authentication of the user, and theinteraction component is configured to provide the user with a virtualtour of the property. For this embodiment, the access unit is furtherconfigured to provide the physical access via remote control, and thevirtual tour comprises a remote real time interaction with the userduring the physical access of the property.

In a further aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. Thecomputer-readable storage medium comprises a memory component configuredto store computer-readable instructions that include instructions forperforming various acts. For this particular embodiment, the actsinclude authenticating a user based on user information included in arequest to enter a property secured by a locking mechanism. The actsfurther includes providing the user with physical access to the propertyin response to an authentication of the user, and providing the userwith a virtual tour of the property. For this embodiment, the physicalaccess is remotely provided, and the virtual tour comprises a remotereal time interaction with the user during the physical access of theproperty.

Aspects that facilitate matching a user with a virtual agent are alsocontemplated. In one such aspect, a method is provided which includesmaintaining a database of virtual agents in which each of the virtualagents are remotely located from a property secured by a lockingmechanism. The method also includes authenticating a user based on userinformation included in a request to enter the property, and matching anauthenticated user with a host agent of a virtual tour. For thisembodiment, the host agent is selected from the database of virtualagents, and the virtual tour comprises a remote real time interactionbetween the user and the host agent while the user physically accessesthe property.

In another aspect, a management system is provided. Within suchembodiment, the management system includes an agent component, a usercomponent, and a matching component. The agent component is configuredto maintain a database of virtual agents in which each of the virtualagents are remotely located from a property secured by a lockingmechanism. The user component is configured to authenticate a user basedon user information included in a request to enter the property, whereasthe matching component is configured to match an authenticated user witha host agent of a virtual tour. For this embodiment, the host agent isselected from the database of virtual agents, and the virtual tourcomprises a remote real time interaction between the user and the hostagent while the user physically accesses the property.

In a further aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. Thecomputer-readable storage medium comprises a memory component configuredto store computer-readable instructions that include instructions forperforming various acts. For this particular embodiment, the actsinclude maintaining a database of virtual agents in which each of thevirtual agents are remotely located from a property secured by a lockingmechanism. The acts also include authenticating a user based on userinformation included in a request to enter the property, and matching anauthenticated user with a host agent of a virtual tour. For thisembodiment, the host agent is selected from the database of virtualagents, and the virtual tour comprises a remote real time interactionbetween the user and the host agent while the user physically accessesthe property.

Other embodiments and various non-limiting examples, scenarios, andimplementations are described in more detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various non-limiting embodiments are further described with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment that provides a virtualagent in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology that provides avirtual agent in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 3 illustrates a first exemplary transmission of a request to entera property;

FIG. 4 illustrates a second exemplary transmission of a request to entera property;

FIG. 5 illustrates a third exemplary transmission of a request to entera property;

FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary locking mechanisms for a property inaccordance with an aspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 7 illustrates a user entering a property in which physical accesswas provided in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary user interaction with a mobile robot inaccordance with an aspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary mobile robot in accordance with anaspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 10 illustrates a user in a first room of an exemplary virtual tourfacilitated by a mobile robot in accordance with an aspect of thesubject specification;

FIG. 11 illustrates a user in a hallway of an exemplary virtual tourfacilitated by a mobile robot in accordance with an aspect of thesubject specification;

FIG. 12 illustrates a user in a second room of an exemplary virtual tourfacilitated by a mobile robot in accordance with an aspect of thesubject specification;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary hologram device in accordance with anaspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 14 illustrates a user in a first room of an exemplary virtual tourfacilitated by a hologram device in accordance with an aspect of thesubject specification;

FIG. 15 illustrates a user in a second room of an exemplary virtual tourfacilitated by a hologram device in accordance with an aspect of thesubject specification;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components of avirtual agent system in accordance with an aspect of the subjectspecification;

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary environment that facilitates matchingusers with virtual tour host agents in accordance with an aspect of thesubject specification;

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology that facilitatesmatching users with virtual tour host agents in accordance with anaspect of the subject specification;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components of amanagement system in accordance with an aspect of the subjectspecification;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram representing exemplary non-limiting networkedenvironments in which various embodiments described herein can beimplemented; and

FIG. 21 is a block diagram representing an exemplary non-limitingcomputing system or operating environment in which one or more aspectsof various embodiments described herein can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

As discussed in the background, it is desirable to provide a system andmethod which overcomes the various limitations of conventional propertytours. The embodiments disclosed herein are directed towards overcomingsuch limitations by instantly providing physical access to a desiredproperty, and providing virtual tours of the property during such accessin which the prospective buyer interacts with a virtual agent in realtime. By decreasing the time that a potential buyer has to wait to see ahome, aspects disclosed herein desirably increase the chances for aseller to sell their home. Indeed, prospective home buyers often drivearound looking for signage indicating that a home is for sale. Uponfinding a home that they would like to preview, conventional systemsrequire scheduling an appointment with their real estate agent or thelisting agent, wherein the physical availability of an agent may delaythe preview by several days. Aspects disclosed herein eliminate thisdelay by instantly providing authenticated prospective buyers withphysical access to a desired property via a virtual/remote agent system.For instance, aspects are contemplated in which a desired property isremotely unlocked by a licensed real estate agent, wherein theprospective buyer is then provided with a virtual tour of the propertyby a mobile robot. Here, it is further contemplated that such mobilerobot is configured to enable a remotely located real estate agent tointeract with the prospective buyer in real time, and that an array ofcameras/sensors within the property may be included which enable theagent to remotely monitor the property throughout the tour.

Exemplary Virtual Agent Environment

Referring first to FIG. 1, an exemplary environment that facilitates avirtual agent system in accordance with an aspect of the subjectspecification is provided. As illustrated, environment 100 includes aproperty system 120, which is coupled to a management system 130, a userdevice 140, and external resources 150 via network 110 (e.g., theInternet). Within such embodiment, it is contemplated that the propertysystem 120 may include any of various components physically located onthe property (e.g., digital locking mechanisms, mobile robot,cameras/sensors, etc.), which may be remotely controlled and/ormonitored by a management system 130. During operation, it is furthercontemplated that prospective home buyers will submit a request to viewa particular home either via a user device 140 (e.g., smartphone,laptop, etc.) or a user interface included as part of the propertysystem 120 (e.g., a touchscreen on the front porch of the desired home).The management system 130 then authenticates the prospective home buyerbased on user information included in the request, wherein suchauthentication may include retrieving and/or corroborating userinformation via records maintained by third party external resources 150(e.g., credit score, biometric verification, etc.). Upon a successfulauthentication, the management system 130 may then remotely provide theprospective home buyer with physical access to the desired property viaa communication with the property system 120 (e.g., by remotelyunlocking a door or lock box included as part of the property system120) and/or the user device 140 (e.g., by sending a digital key to theprospective home buyer's smartphone that is configured to unlock a dooror lock box on the property). In a particular aspect of the disclosure,the property system 120 includes an interactive mobile robot and anarray of cameras/sensors accessible to a remotely located real estateagent via the management system 130, wherein the mobile robot operatesas a physical proxy for the agent, and wherein the array ofcameras/sensors enable the agent to remotely monitor the property.

Exemplary Virtual Agent Methodology

Referring next to FIG. 2, a flow chart illustrating an exemplary methodthat provides a virtual agent according to an embodiment is provided. Asillustrated, process 200 includes a series of acts that may be performedby a virtual agent system that includes at least one computing device(e.g., property system 120 and/or management system 130) according to anaspect of the subject specification. For instance, process 200 may beimplemented by employing a processor to execute computer executableinstructions stored on a computer readable storage medium to implementthe series of acts. In another embodiment, a computer-readable storagemedium comprising code for causing at least one computer to implementthe acts of process 200 is contemplated.

In an aspect, process 200 begins with the virtual agent system receivinga request to enter a property secured by a locking mechanism at act 210.Here, as illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, it is contemplated that a user 300may submit such request via a user device 140 in any of a plurality ofways. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a user 300 may submit arequest from their home or office, wherein user device 140 is aconventional desktop or laptop computer. As illustrated in FIG. 4, auser 300 may also submit a request while driving by the desired property400, wherein user device 140 is a conventional smartphone or othermobile device. Alternatively, rather than utilizing a user device 140,it is contemplated that the desired property 400 itself may include aninterface 410 (e.g., a Wi-Fi enabled touchscreen), as illustrated inFIG. 5, wherein the user 300 may input their request via the interface410.

Providing the user 300 with a temporary Wi-Fi password which links theuser 300 to a Wi-Fi network of the property 400 is also contemplated, incase the user 300 does not have a data plan or has poor reception ontheir mobile phone. Within such embodiment, the Wi-Fi password may beprovided via user device 140 and/or interface 410 in response to arequest to access the property 400.

It should also be appreciated that requests to access a property 400 maybe received in various forms. For instance, in an exemplary embodiment,a user 300 may fill out a digital questionnaire via user device 140and/or interface 410. In another embodiment, verbal requests to access aproperty 400 are also contemplated, wherein a user 300 may connect witha call center via user device 140 and/or interface 410 and speakdirectly to a live operator (e.g., via phone, live chat, etc.) and/orprovide user information via an automated system.

Upon receiving a request to access a particular property 400, thevirtual agent system then authenticates the user 300 at act 220. It iscontemplated that such authentication may be based on user informationincluded in the request, wherein user information may include any ofvarious types of information associated with the user 300. For instance,user information may include personal information associated with theuser 300 (e.g., phone number, home address, social security number,etc.), as well as biometric data associated with the user 300 (e.g.,fingerprint submitted via user device 140, photo taken via interface410, etc.), wherein the authenticating comprises analyzing the userinformation to ensure proper identification of the user 300.

In addition to identifying a user 300, it is contemplated that anauthentication may further comprise determining whether the user 300 isa qualified purchaser of the property 400. Within such embodiment, userinformation may thus include financial information associated with theuser 300 (e.g., employment history, salary information, etc.), whereinauthenticating the user 300 may comprise confirming the veracity of suchinformation (e.g., via external resources 150 such as financialinstitutions, credit reporting agencies, etc.) and determining whetherthe user 300 is a qualified purchaser of the property 400 (e.g., basedon credit score, salary information, etc.).

In another aspect of the disclosure, rather than inputting sensitivepersonal information into a request, such information may be stored in aprofile associated with the user 300. For instance, when requestingaccess to a property 400, a user 300 may simply input a username andpassword, wherein authenticating the user 300 comprises accessing theuser's profile via their username and password. Here, it should beappreciated that such profiles could be maintained internally (e.g.,within management system 130) and/or externally (e.g., within externalresources 150).

Once a user 300 is authenticated, process 200 proceeds to act 230 wherephysical access to the property is remotely provided. Here, providingsuch access may be conditioned upon receiving a signed consent form(e.g., via a digital signing platform provided by user device 140 and/orinterface 410), wherein the user 300 consents to the parameters of theshowing including being recorded. Actual access to the property 400 maythen be provided in any of a plurality of ways. For instance, asillustrated in FIG. 6, a property 400 may include a door lock 420 and/orlock box 430. Here, upon a successful authentication of the user 300, itis contemplated that a remote entity (e.g., a real estate agent inhis/her office) may then provide the user 300 with access to theproperty 400 by, for example, directly unlocking the door lock 420and/or lock box 430, or sending the user 300 a digital key configured tounlock the door lock 420 and/or lock box 430. To this end, it should beappreciated that unlock mechanisms are well known in the art, such asthe mechanisms disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,204,672, 6,161,005, and6,005,306, each of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety. Once access is provided, the user 300 may then enter theproperty 400, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, an interactive virtual tour ofthe property 400 is contemplated at act 240. In a particular embodiment,the virtual tour is facilitated by a mobile robot 500, as illustrated inFIGS. 8-12. Upon entering the property 400, the user 300 may thus begreeted by a mobile robot 500, as illustrated in FIG. 8. An exemplarymobile robot 500 is provided in FIG. 9, wherein the mobile robot 500comprises various components that enable the user 300 to interact with aremotely located real estate agent in real time as the user 300 toursthe property 400. As illustrated, mobile robot 500 includes wheels 510and a computing device 520 coupled to a display 522 and camera 524,which enable the user 300 to video conference with a remotely locatedreal estate agent. Mobile robots are well known in the art, such as theBeamPro™ robot manufactured by Suitable Technologies® and disclosed inU.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2013/0265885, 2013/0343344, and2013/0343352, each of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

Referring next to FIGS. 10-12, an exemplary virtual tour of property 400facilitated by mobile robot 500 is provided. As illustrated, such a tourmay begin with a showing of the living room, as illustrated in FIG. 10,wherein the user 300 and mobile robot 500 subsequently travel throughthe hallway, as illustrated in FIG. 11, and then to the kitchen, asillustrated in FIG. 12. Here, throughout the tour, it should beappreciated that the remotely located real estate agent may continuouslyengage with the user 300 in real time via mobile robot 500. To this end,in addition to providing basic video conferencing capabilities, themobile robot 500 may be further configured to instantly provide the user300 with any of various types of information/documents associated withthe property 400. For instance, in response to the user 300 asking aboutnearby schools, the remotely located real estate agent may uploadrelevant information (e.g., school boundary map, school districtratings, etc.) which then appears on display 522 of the mobile robot500. Display 522 may also be configured as a touchscreen, wherein theuser 300 may manually input queries and/or navigate through a series ofpreloaded pages associated with the property 400.

In another aspect of the disclosure, the virtual agent system may beconfigured to automatically prioritize data associated with the property400 based on information about the user 300 ascertained by the system.For instance, based on a user's profile (e.g., parent of two youngchildren), the system may infer that the user 300 would be interested inlearning more about the local schools. In this scenario, informationabout the local schools (e.g., school boundary map, school districtratings, etc.) might be prioritized over other types of information(e.g., map of local bars) and preloaded into the system before the user300 requests it. Moreover, rather than passively waiting for the user300 to request school information, the remotely located real estateagent may be prompted by the system to volunteer such information,and/or the information may be preloaded onto the mobile robot 500 whereit is instantly available to the user 300.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, it is contemplated that theproperty 400 will be continuously monitored throughout the duration of avirtual tour. Accordingly, referring back to process 200, suchmonitoring is represented by act 250, wherein the property 400 may beequipped with various components to facilitate the monitoring. Forinstance, the property 400 may be equipped with an array of Wi-Fienabled cameras and sensors (e.g., motion sensors, door/window sensors,etc.) that may be monitored by the remotely located real estate agent.As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12, for example, a camera unit 440 mayinclude a first camera in the living room and a second camera in thekitchen, whereas a sensor unit 450 may include a first sensor in theliving room and a second sensor in the kitchen. Once the virtual tour isover, process 200 concludes at act 260 with the remotely located realestate agent locking the property 400. Here, before actually locking theproperty 400, the remotely located real estate agent may first confirmvia the camera unit 440 and/or the sensor unit 450 that the user 300 andanyone accompanying the user 300 has indeed vacated the property 400. Itshould also be noted that remotely locking the property 400 may beachieved in a manner substantially similar to the aforementionedmechanism for unlocking door lock 420 and lock box 430.

Rather than utilizing a mobile robot 500 to facilitate a virtual tour asdescribed herein, any of various other devices and systems may be usedinstead. For instance, an intercom unit 460 is contemplated, wherein theremotely located real estate agent communicates with the user 300 viathe intercom unit 460, and monitors the user 300 via the camera unit 440and sensor unit 450. Within such embodiment, the intercom unit 460 maycomprise an array of units placed in various rooms of the property 400.

A virtual agent may also appear to a user 300 via holograms. Within suchembodiment, an array of hologram devices may be placed in various roomsof the property, wherein the user 300 may interact with the remotelylocated real estate agent via the hologram devices. An exemplaryhologram device is provided in FIG. 13. As illustrated, a hologramdevice 600 may be any of various devices known in the art, which can beconfigured to project a hologram 610. In FIG. 13, hologram device 600 isillustrated as a smartphone, although a tablet or any of various otherdevices known in the art may be used. Examples of hologram technologyare disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2015/0220058 and U.S. Pat.No. 5,865,519, each of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety. To facilitate a virtual tour as disclosed herein, anarray of hologram devices may thus be placed in various rooms, whereinthe remotely located agent appears to the user 300 as a hologram. Forinstance, as illustrated in FIGS. 14-15, a first hologram device 700 maybe placed in the living room, which projects a first hologram 710 of theagent, whereas a second hologram device 800 may be placed in thekitchen, which projects a second hologram 810 of the agent. The user 300may thus interact with the remotely located agent via the first hologram710 while in the living room, and subsequently interact with the agentvia the second hologram 810 while in the kitchen.

In another aspect of the disclosure, it is contemplated that threedimensional virtual models of the property 400 (e.g., three dimensionalmodels provided by Matterport® or other companies known in the art) maybe used to improve the user 300 experience and/or assist the remotelylocated agent. For instance, prior to granting the user 300 access tothe property 400, the system may provide the user 300 with a threedimensional interior model of the property 400 which may be viewed onuser device 140 or interface 410, for example. The user 300 may thendetermine whether to proceed with the physical access request based onthe three dimensional virtual tour. With respect to the remotely locatedagent, three dimensional models of the property 400 may be used as apoint of reference throughout the virtual tour to facilitate viewingblind spots, mapping a path for the virtual tour, etc.

Exemplary Virtual Agent System

FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of an exemplary virtual agent system 1600which facilitates various aspects disclosed herein. As shown in FIG. 16,virtual agent system 1600 may include a processor component 1610, amemory component 1620, an authentication component 1630, an accesscomponent 1640, an interaction component 1650, and a monitoringcomponent 1660. Components 1610-1660 may reside together in a singlelocation or separately in different locations in various combinations,including, for example, a configuration in which any of theaforementioned components reside in a cloud. For instance, withreference to FIG. 1, it is contemplated that these components mayreside, alone or in combination, in any of property system 120,management system 130, user device 140, and/or external resources 150.

In one aspect, processor component 1610 is configured to executecomputer-readable instructions related to performing any of a pluralityof functions. Processor component 1610 can be a single processor or aplurality of processors which analyze and/or generate informationutilized by memory component 1620, authentication component 1630, accesscomponent 1640, interaction component 1650, and/or monitoring component1660. Additionally or alternatively, processor component 1610 may beconfigured to control one or more components of virtual agent system1600.

In another aspect, memory component 1620 is coupled to processorcomponent 1610 and configured to store computer-readable instructionsexecuted by processor component 1610. Memory component 1620 may also beconfigured to store any of a plurality of other types of data includingdata generated by any of authentication component 1630, access component1640, interaction component 1650, and/or monitoring component 1660.Memory component 1620 can be configured in a number of differentconfigurations, including as random access memory, battery-backedmemory, Solid State memory, hard disk, magnetic tape, etc. Variousfeatures can also be implemented upon memory component 1620, such ascompression and automatic back up (e.g., use of a Redundant Array ofIndependent Drives configuration). In one aspect, the memory may belocated on a network, such as a “cloud storage” solution.

As illustrated, virtual agent system 1600 may also compriseauthentication component 1630, which is configured to authenticate auser based on user information included in a request to enter a propertysecured by a locking mechanism. Here, it is contemplated thatauthentication component 1630 may be configured to authenticate a userbased on any of various types of information associated with a userincluding, for example, personal information associated with the user(e.g., phone number, home address, social security number, etc.), aswell as biometric data associated with the user (e.g., fingerprintsubmitted via a user device 140, photo taken via interface 410, etc.),wherein authentication component 1630 is further configured to analyzethe user information to ensure proper identification of the user.

In addition to identifying a user, it is contemplated thatauthentication component 1630 may be configured to determine whether auser is a qualified purchaser of a property. Within such embodiment,user information may thus include financial information associated withthe user (e.g., employment history, salary information, etc.), whereinauthentication component 1630 may be configured to confirm the veracityof such information (e.g., via external resources 150 such as financialinstitutions, credit reporting agencies, etc.) and determine whether theuser is a qualified purchaser of the property (e.g., based on creditscore, salary information, etc.).

In another aspect of the disclosure, authentication component 1630 maybe configured to retrieve information stored in a profile associatedwith the user. Indeed, as previously stated, a user may simply input ausername and password when requesting access to a property, whereinauthentication component 1630 is configured to access the user's profilevia their username and password. Such profiles could be maintainedinternally (e.g., within management system 130) and/or externally (e.g.,within external resources 150).

As illustrated in FIG. 16, virtual agent system 1600 may also compriseaccess component 1640, which is configured to provide the user withphysical access to the property in response to an authentication of theuser. Here, it should be appreciated that access component 1640 isconfigured to provide such physical access via remote control. Forinstance, access component 1640 may include a door lock 420 and/or lockbox 430, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Within such embodiment, upon asuccessful authentication of a user, it is contemplated that accesscomponent 1640 may be configured to enable a remote entity (e.g., a realestate agent in his/her office) to provide the user with access to theproperty by, for example, directly unlocking the door lock 420 and/orlock box 430, or sending the user a digital key configured to unlock thedoor lock 420 and/or lock box 430.

Virtual agent system 1600 may further comprise interaction component1650, which is configured to provide the user with a virtual tour of theproperty. It is contemplated that such virtual tour comprises a remotereal time interaction with the user during the physical access of theproperty. In a particular embodiment, interaction component 1650comprises a mobile robot, such as mobile robot 500 illustrated in FIGS.8-12, wherein the virtual tour is facilitated by the mobile robotaccording to the aspects previously disclosed herein. In anotherembodiment, interaction component 1650 comprises an array of hologramdevices, such as hologram devices 700 and 800 respectively illustratedin FIGS. 14 and 15, wherein the virtual tour is facilitated by thehologram devices according to the aspects previously disclosed herein.In yet another embodiment, interaction component 1650 comprises an arrayof intercom devices, such as intercom unit 460 illustrated in FIGS. 10,12, 14, and 15, wherein the virtual tour is facilitated by the intercomdevices according to the aspects previously disclosed herein.

Virtual agent system 1600 may also comprise monitoring component 1660,which is configured to monitor the property during the virtual tour. Forinstance, monitoring component 1660 may comprise an array of Wi-Fienabled cameras and sensors (e.g., motion sensors, door/window sensors,etc.), which may be monitored by a remotely located real estate agent.As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12, for example, a camera unit 440 mayinclude a first camera in the living room and a second camera in thekitchen, whereas a sensor unit 450 may include a first sensor in theliving room and a second sensor in the kitchen. Once the virtual tour isover, access component 1640 may then be utilized by the remotely locatedreal estate agent to lock the property in a manner substantially similarto the aforementioned mechanism for unlocking door lock 420 and lock box430.

Exemplary User-Agent Matching Environment

In another aspect of the disclosure, a system and methodology formatching users with virtual agents via an automated “call center” iscontemplated. In FIG. 17, an exemplary environment that facilitates suchmatching in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification isprovided. As illustrated, environment 1700 includes a management system130 configured to match users 1710 with particular virtual agents 1720.Here, it should be appreciated that matching users 1710 with virtualagents 1720 may comprise having management system 130 utilize any of thecomponents included in environment 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. Forinstance, it is contemplated that management system 130 may beconfigured to receive requests to access a property from users 1710 viaa user device 140 and/or interface 410 included as part of propertysystem 120. It is further contemplated that external resources 150 mayrepresent a plurality of devices respectively associated with each ofvirtual agents 1720, wherein management system 130 is configured toregister virtual agents 1720 based on an authentication of virtual agentapplications received via external resources 150.

Exemplary User-Agent Matching Methodology

Referring next to FIG. 18, a flow chart illustrating an exemplary methodthat facilitates matching users with virtual tour host agents accordingto an embodiment is provided. As illustrated, process 1800 includes aseries of acts that may be performed by a management system thatincludes at least one computing device (e.g., management system 130)according to an aspect of the subject specification. For instance,process 1800 may be implemented by employing a processor to executecomputer executable instructions stored on a computer readable storagemedium to implement the series of acts. In another embodiment, acomputer-readable storage medium comprising code for causing at leastone computer to implement the acts of process 1800 is contemplated.

In an aspect, process 1800 begins with the management system 130receiving agent enrollment requests from agents at act 1810. At act1820, agents are then authenticated based on agent information includedin agent enrollment applications (e.g., by analyzing biometric dataassociated with the agent), wherein a database of authenticated agentsis then maintained at act 1830. Here, it should be appreciated that themaintaining at act 1830 may include indexing agents based on informationincluded in the agent enrollment applications (e.g., based on languagespoken, level of experience, availability, review history, etc.).

At act 1840, the management system 130 then receives requests from usersto enter properties secured by a locking mechanism in a mannersubstantially similar to act 210 of process 200. After receiving arequest to access a property, the management system 130 thenauthenticates the user at act 1850 in a manner substantially similar toact 220 of process 200. Process 1800 then concludes at act 1860 whereauthenticated users are matched with a corresponding virtual tour hostagent, wherein the matching may comprise matching authenticated userswith a host agent based on the aforementioned agent indexing (e.g.,based on language spoken, level of experience, availability, reviewhistory, etc.).

Referring next to FIG. 19, a block diagram of an exemplary managementsystem 130 which facilitates matching users with virtual tour hostagents in accordance with a disclosed aspect. As illustrated, managementsystem 130 may include a processor component 1910, a memory component1920, an agent component 1930, a user component 1940, and a monitoringcomponent 1950. Components 1910-1950 may reside together in a singlelocation or separately in different locations in various combinations,including, for example, a configuration in which any of theaforementioned components reside in a cloud.

Similar to processor component 1610 in virtual agent system 1600,processor component 1910 is configured to execute computer-readableinstructions related to performing any of a plurality of functions.Processor component 1910 can be a single processor or a plurality ofprocessors which analyze and/or generate information utilized by memorycomponent 1920, agent component 1930, user component 1940, and/ormonitoring component 1950. Additionally or alternatively, processorcomponent 1910 may be configured to control one or more components ofmanagement system 130.

In another aspect, memory component 1920 is coupled to processorcomponent 1910 and configured to store computer-readable instructionsexecuted by processor component 1910. Memory component 1920 may also beconfigured to store any of a plurality of other types of data includingdata generated by any of agent component 1930, user component 1940,and/or monitoring component 1950. Here, it should be noted that memorycomponent 1920 is analogous to memory component 1620 in virtual agentsystem 1600. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that any of theaforementioned features/configurations of memory component 1620 are alsoapplicable to memory component 1920.

As illustrated, management system 130 may also include agent component1930, user component 1940, and matching component 1950. For thisparticular embodiment, agent component 1930 is configured to maintain adatabase of virtual agents in which each of the virtual agents areremotely located from a property secured by a locking mechanism. Usercomponent 1940 is then configured to authenticate a user based on userinformation included in a request to enter the property, whereasmatching component 1950 is configured to match an authenticated userwith a host agent of a virtual tour. Here, it should be appreciated thatthe host agent is selected from the database of virtual agents, and thevirtual tour comprises a remote real time interaction between the userand the host agent while the user physically accesses the property.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, agent component 1930 may beconfigured to authenticate agents based on agent information included inagent enrollment applications (e.g., by analyzing biometric dataassociated with the agent included in the enrollment application) suchthat the database of virtual agents is limited to authenticated agents.Agent component 1930 may also be configured to index agents based oninformation included in agent enrollment applications (e.g., languagespoken, level of experience, availability, review history, etc.),wherein matching component 1950 may then be configured to match theauthenticated user with the host agent based on an indexing of thevirtual agents.

Exemplary Networked and Distributed Environments

One of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that various embodimentsfor implementing the use of a computing device and related embodimentsdescribed herein can be implemented in connection with any computer orother client or server device, which can be deployed as part of acomputer network or in a distributed computing environment, and can beconnected to any kind of data store. Moreover, one of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that such embodiments can be implemented in anycomputer system or environment having any number of memory or storageunits, and any number of applications and processes occurring across anynumber of storage units. This includes, but is not limited to, anenvironment with server computers and client computers deployed in anetwork environment or a distributed computing environment, havingremote or local storage.

FIG. 20 provides a non-limiting schematic diagram of an exemplarynetworked or distributed computing environment. The distributedcomputing environment comprises computing objects or devices 2010, 2012,etc. and computing objects or devices 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028,etc., which may include programs, methods, data stores, programmablelogic, etc., as represented by applications 2030, 2032, 2034, 2036,2038. It can be appreciated that computing objects or devices 2010,2012, etc. and computing objects or devices 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026,2028, etc. may comprise different devices, such as PDAs (personaldigital assistants), audio/video devices, mobile phones, MP3 players,laptops, etc.

Each computing object or device 2010, 2012, etc. and computing objectsor devices 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, etc. can communicate with oneor more other computing objects or devices 2010, 2012, etc. andcomputing objects or devices 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, etc. by wayof the communications network 2040, either directly or indirectly. Eventhough illustrated as a single element in FIG. 20, network 2040 maycomprise other computing objects and computing devices that provideservices to the system of FIG. 20, and/or may represent multipleinterconnected networks, which are not shown. Each computing object ordevice 2010, 2012, etc. or 2020, 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, etc. can alsocontain an application, such as applications 2030, 2032, 2034, 2036,2038, that might make use of an API (application programming interface),or other object, software, firmware and/or hardware, suitable forcommunication with or implementation of the disclosed aspects inaccordance with various embodiments.

There are a variety of systems, components, and network configurationsthat support distributed computing environments. For example, computingsystems can be connected together by wired or wireless systems, by localnetworks or widely distributed networks. Currently, many networks arecoupled to the Internet, which provides an infrastructure for widelydistributed computing and encompasses many different networks, thoughany network infrastructure can be used for exemplary communications madeincident to the techniques as described in various embodiments.

Thus, a host of network topologies and network infrastructures, such asclient/server, peer-to-peer, or hybrid architectures, can be utilized.In a client/server architecture, particularly a networked system, aclient is usually a computer that accesses shared network resourcesprovided by another computer, e.g., a server. In the illustration ofFIG. 20, as a non-limiting example, computing objects or devices 2020,2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, etc. can be thought of as clients and computingobjects or devices 2010, 2012, etc. can be thought of as servers wherecomputing objects or devices 2010, 2012, etc. provide data services,such as receiving data from computing objects or devices 2020, 2022,2024, 2026, 2028, etc., storing of data, processing of data,transmitting data to computing objects or devices 2020, 2022, 2024,2026, 2028, etc., although any computer can be considered a client, aserver, or both, depending on the circumstances. Any of these computingdevices may be processing data, or requesting services or tasks that mayimplicate aspects and related techniques as described herein for one ormore embodiments.

A server is typically a remote computer system accessible over a remoteor local network, such as the Internet or wireless networkinfrastructures. The client process may be active in a first computersystem, and the server process may be active in a second computersystem, communicating with one another over a communications medium,thus providing distributed functionality and allowing multiple clientsto take advantage of the information-gathering capabilities of theserver. Any software objects utilized pursuant to the user profiling canbe provided standalone, or distributed across multiple computing devicesor objects.

In a network environment in which the communications network/bus 2040 isthe Internet, for example, the computing objects or devices 2010, 2012,etc. can be Web servers with which the computing objects or devices2020, 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, etc. communicate via any of a number ofknown protocols, such as HTTP. As mentioned, computing objects ordevices 2010, 2012, etc. may also serve as computing objects or devices2020, 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, etc., or vice versa, as may becharacteristic of a distributed computing environment.

Exemplary Computing Device

As mentioned, several of the aforementioned embodiments apply to anydevice wherein it may be desirable to include a computing device tofacilitate implementing the aspects disclosed herein. It is understood,therefore, that handheld, portable and other computing devices andcomputing objects of all kinds are contemplated for use in connectionwith the various embodiments described herein. Accordingly, the belowgeneral purpose remote computer described below in FIG. 21 is but oneexample, and the embodiments of the subject disclosure may beimplemented with any client having network/bus interoperability andinteraction.

Although not required, any of the embodiments can partly be implementedvia an operating system, for use by a developer of services for a deviceor object, and/or included within application software that operates inconnection with the operable component(s). Software may be described inthe general context of computer executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by one or more computers, such as clientworkstations, servers or other devices. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that network interactions may be practiced with a variety ofcomputer system configurations and protocols.

FIG. 21 thus illustrates an example of a suitable computing systemenvironment 2100 in which one or more of the embodiments may beimplemented, although as made clear above, the computing systemenvironment 2100 is only one example of a suitable computing environmentand is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of any of the embodiments. The computing environment 2100is not to be interpreted as having any dependency or requirementrelating to any one or combination of components illustrated in theexemplary operating environment 2100.

With reference to FIG. 21, an exemplary remote device for implementingone or more embodiments herein can include a general purpose computingdevice in the form of a handheld computer 2110. Components of handheldcomputer 2110 may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit2120, a system memory 2130, and a system bus 2121 that couples varioussystem components including the system memory to the processing unit2120.

Computer 2110 typically includes a variety of computer readable mediaand can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 2110.The system memory 2130 may include computer storage media in the form ofvolatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/orrandom access memory (RAM). By way of example, and not limitation,memory 2130 may also include an operating system, application programs,other program modules, and program data.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer 2110 throughinput devices 2140 A monitor or other type of display device is alsoconnected to the system bus 2121 via an interface, such as outputinterface 2150. In addition to a monitor, computers may also includeother peripheral output devices such as speakers and a printer, whichmay be connected through output interface 2150.

The computer 2110 may operate in a networked or distributed environmentusing logical connections to one or more other remote computers, such asremote computer 2170. The remote computer 2170 may be a personalcomputer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or othercommon network node, or any other remote media consumption ortransmission device, and may include any or all of the elementsdescribed above relative to the computer 2110. The logical connectionsdepicted in FIG. 21 include a network 2171, such local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), but may also include othernetworks/buses. Such networking environments are commonplace in homes,offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

As mentioned above, while exemplary embodiments have been described inconnection with various computing devices, networks and advertisingarchitectures, the underlying concepts may be applied to any networksystem and any computing device or system in which it is desirable toimplement the aspects disclosed herein.

There are multiple ways of implementing one or more of the embodimentsdescribed herein, e.g., an appropriate API, tool kit, driver code,operating system, control, standalone or downloadable software object,etc. which enables applications to implement the aspects disclosedherein. Embodiments may be contemplated from the standpoint of an API(or other software object), as well as from a software or hardwareobject that facilitates implementing the aspects disclosed herein inaccordance with one or more of the described embodiments. Variousimplementations and embodiments described herein may have aspects thatare wholly in hardware, partly in hardware and partly in software, aswell as in software.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subjectmatter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition,any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarilyto be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects ordesigns, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures andtechniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, tothe extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and othersimilar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims,for the avoidance of doubt, such terms are intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition wordwithout precluding any additional or other elements.

As mentioned, the various techniques described herein may be implementedin connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with acombination of both. As used herein, the terms “component,” “system” andthe like are likewise intended to refer to a computer-related entity,either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. For example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running oncomputer and the computer can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers.

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect tointeraction between several components. It can be appreciated that suchsystems and components can include those components or specifiedsub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components,and/or additional components, and according to various permutations andcombinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented ascomponents communicatively coupled to other components rather thanincluded within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it isnoted that one or more components may be combined into a singlecomponent providing aggregate functionality or divided into severalseparate sub-components, and any one or more middle layers, such as amanagement layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to suchsub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Anycomponents described herein may also interact with one or more othercomponents not specifically described herein but generally known bythose of skill in the art.

In view of the exemplary systems described supra, methodologies that maybe implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter can beappreciated with reference to the flowcharts of the various figures.While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies areshown and described as a series of blocks, it is to be understood andappreciated that the claimed subject matter is not limited by the orderof the blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders and/orconcurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and describedherein. Where non-sequential, or branched, flow is illustrated viaflowchart, it can be appreciated that various other branches, flowpaths, and orders of the blocks, may be implemented which achieve thesame or a similar result. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may berequired to implement the methodologies described hereinafter.

While in some embodiments, a client side perspective is illustrated, itis to be understood for the avoidance of doubt that a correspondingserver perspective exists, or vice versa. Similarly, where a method ispracticed, a corresponding device can be provided having storage and atleast one processor configured to practice that method via one or morecomponents.

While the various embodiments have been described in connection with thepreferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understoodthat other similar embodiments may be used or modifications andadditions may be made to the described embodiment for performing thesame function without deviating there from. Still further, one or moreaspects of the above described embodiments may be implemented in oracross a plurality of processing chips or devices, and storage maysimilarly be affected across a plurality of devices. Therefore, thepresent invention should not be limited to any single embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: authenticating a user basedon user information included in a request to enter a property secured bya locking mechanism; providing the user with physical access to theproperty in response to an authentication of the user, wherein thephysical access is remotely provided; and providing the user with avirtual tour of the property, wherein the virtual tour comprises aremote real time interaction with the user during the physical access ofthe property.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising remotelymonitoring the property during the virtual tour.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising remotely locking the property upon a conclusion ofthe virtual tour.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user informationincludes biometric data associated with the user, and wherein theauthenticating comprises analyzing the biometric data.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the remote real time interaction comprises interactingwith the user via a mobile robot, and wherein the mobile robot isconfigured to travel within the property via remote control.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the remote real time interaction comprises avideo conference with the user facilitated by the mobile robot.
 7. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the remote real time interaction comprisesproviding the user with information via a display on the mobile robot.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote real time interactioncomprises interacting with the user via at least one hologram.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein providing the user with physical access tothe property comprises remotely unlocking the locking mechanism.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein providing the user with physical access tothe property comprises remotely unlocking a lock box.
 11. A system,comprising: an authentication component configured to authenticate auser based on user information included in a request to enter a propertysecured by a locking mechanism; an access component configured toprovide the user with physical access to the property in response to anauthentication of the user, wherein the access component is furtherconfigured to provide the physical access via remote control; and aninteraction component configured to provide the user with a virtual tourof the property, wherein the virtual tour comprises a remote real timeinteraction with the user during the physical access of the property.12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the interaction componentcomprises a mobile robot configured to facilitate the remote real timeinteraction with the user, and wherein the mobile robot is configured totravel within the property via remote control.
 13. The system accordingto claim 11, wherein the interaction component comprises at least onehologram device configured to facilitate the remote real timeinteraction with the user via at least one hologram.
 14. The systemaccording to claim 11, further comprising a monitoring componentconfigured to monitor the property during the virtual tour.
 15. Thesystem according to claim 14, wherein the monitoring component comprisesat least one of a camera or a sensor.
 16. A computer-readable storagemedium, comprising: a memory component configured to storecomputer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructionsincluding instructions for performing the following acts: authenticatinga user based on user information included in a request to enter aproperty secured by a locking mechanism; providing the user withphysical access to the property in response to an authentication of theuser, wherein the physical access is remotely provided; and providingthe user with a virtual tour of the property, wherein the virtual tourcomprises a remote real time interaction with the user during thephysical access of the property.
 17. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 16, wherein providing the user with physical accesscomprises transmitting a digital key to the user, and wherein thedigital key is configured to unlock the locking mechanism.
 18. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the authenticatingcomprises determining whether the user is a qualified purchaser of theproperty based on the user information.
 19. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 16, wherein the authenticating comprisesanalyzing biometric data associated with the user.
 20. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the acts furthercomprise prioritizing data associated with the property based on theuser information.